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Heckler & Koch PSP and P7

Finish

Caliber(s)

Mag. Cap.

Barrel Length

Overall Length

Height

Width Across Grips

Weight w/o Magazine

Weight with Empty
Magazine

Sight Radius

Blue

9 x 19mm

8

4.13"

6.54"

5.00"

1.14"

1.73 lbs.

1.88 lbs.

5.83"

The PSP is the very first member of
the P7 family of pistols. PSP stands for Police Self-loading
Pistol.
It is out of production except for an occasional new production run.
I'm told all the HK factory-types carry the PSP.

It is very similar to the P7M8, the primary
visible differences are the PSP's lack of a heat guard above the trigger,
and a "European style" magazine release on the butt of the gun. To
see the two side by side click here.
For a complete list of differences click
here.

The PSP has a single-stack magazine that
holds 8 rounds. It also has a gas-retarded action and a polygon bore
barrel.

Is it a PSP
or a P7 or a
P7 PSP?The gun in the top photo is clearly a
PSP,
the grips (or at least the one showing) are unmarked. This was the
first version of the P7 legacy. The one below has the grips marked
P7,
no sign of PSP, making it a later gun that was now called a P7
as it's designation in police trials. After the P7M8 came along,
the earlier P7 was referred to as a PSP to keep things straight.
Was any gun ever marked both P7and PSP?. I don't know
for sure, but I don't think so.

The original version was
the PSP, marked as such in the photo at the top of your P7 PSP page. When
9mm Para pistols were submitted for evaluation as West German police guns,
they were assigned P number, e.g., P5, P7, etc. Thus the PSP became the
P7, with a minor change which I don't recall - it may only have been the
grip plates, as evidenced in the difference in the photos at the top and
the bottom of your P7 PSP page.

I believe that it was in
the early P7 incarnation that the gun was first imported into the US. German
police officers found that the first-generation P7 had a tendency to drop
its magazine when the butt-heel release rubbed against the rear of their
car seats so there was a generational change modifying the release and
extending the corners of the grip plates to prevent this occurrence.

In the rush to substitute
technology for training and in the aftermath of the murder of one of their
officers, the New Jersey State Police told HK that they would adopt the
P7 if it could be furnished with the magazine release in the American manner,
behind the trigger. Hence the P7 M8, a slightly less concealable gun due
to the fact that the squeeze-cocking mechanism precludes a Browning-style
button release.

It is probably for this reason
that many people prefer the earlier P7 design. I don't know about factory
personnel, but the HK USA people refer the earlier P7 as the PSP to distinguish
it from the P7 M8, but I don't believe that the factory ever changed the
designation.As an aside, I no longer
own a P7. I didn't find its flat shape that ergonomic for me and I found
that the sights shifted noticeably when held uncocked vs. when the squeeze-cocker
was activated. This last point was probably never a problem in German police
work as German police didn't use to draw unless they intended to shoot,
unlike American police, who frequently hold felons at gunpoint. The fatter
P7 M13 seemedto fit my hand better but
I could never see spending the megabucks for one as it gave up the compactness
for concealment. Massad Ayoob claims that he never saw a P7 malfunction
in any of his courses. I saw this happen three times while I was teaching
with him and one of the threeguns which malfunctioned
was mine. I have seen P7's shoot marvelously in the hands of others. If
you're curious about my views on handgun selection, check out the website
www.spw-duf.info.